Iwata dubious of cloud gaming â??inevitable lagâ??

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Nintendo interested in the tech, but unlikely to replicate the OnLive model

Satoru Iwata says that Nintendo will likely employ cloud computing to help its business, but probably not for streaming direct gameplay.

The Nintendo president did reveal plans to “take advantage of the technology”, adding that the publishing empire would likely partner with a cloud computing firm instead of build its own tech.

But he implied that cloud gaming is, ultimately, not a desirable frontier for the group.

“Cloud computing would not conquer every field of entertainment because present telecommunication technologies inevitably involve a certain delay and limitation of transmission speed,” he said during a recent stockholder’s AGM.

“The technologies we use in our video game consoles actually include some elements which are very suitable but others which will never be suited to cloud computing.

“On the other hand, in the world of interactive entertainment that we create, it is pretty true that what comes first is a quick response to players from the computer.

“With cloud computing, for example, customers would be irritated even by a slight delay in response after pressing a button”.

Cloud computing within the game industry has yet to take off from its early stages. Companies such as Gaikai and OnLive are offering different services from the emerging tech, though both are aiming to stream huge amounts of data in rapid speed.

Iwata, however, appeared to be more impressed by the other benefits of cloud computing.

He said: “It is said to be a very efficient technology for a business with volatile demand, for example, the demand of a service increasing ten times suddenly in a day and decreasing to only a fraction in three months again”.